Bolshevik Revolution, November
1917

Summary

By
November 1917 the Provisional Government was in complete
collapse. In the meantime, the Bolshevik party,
helped by German money, had built up an efficient party
organisation, a brilliant propaganda machine, and a powerful
private army (the Red Guards).

When Lenin moved to take over, the Provisional Government was
unable to stop him, and the 'November Revolution' was less of
a revolution than a coup d'état.

Red Guards took over
banks, government buildings, and the railway stations.

The cruiser Aurora
shelled the Winter Palace.

That
night (9.40 pm) the Red Guards took the Winter Palace and arrested the
Provisional Government leaders.

8
November

Lenin announced the
new Communist Government

Extra:

1. What were the most important events of 1917?

2.
Find out more
about:

a.
Lenin

b. Trotksy

c.
the fall of the Winter Palace

3.Which was more important
for the Bolsheviks' victory – the strengths of the Bolsheviks, or the
weaknesses of the Provisional Government?

Why did the Bolshevik
Revolution of November 1917 succeed?

(Perhaps
Seven Powers Gave Lenin An Opportunity)

1.
Provisional
Government problems

The Bolsheviks succeeded because the Provisional
Government was weak and unpopular (remember that Government
That’s Provisional Will Be Killed).When it was attacked, nobody was prepared to defend it.

2.
Slogans

The Bolsheviks had good slogans
such as ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ and ‘All Power to the Soviets’.Other parties claimed they could never deliver their promises, but
their arguments were too complicated for people to understand.This meant that they got the public’s support.

3.
Pravda

The party ran its own
propaganda machine, including the newspaper Pravda
(‘Truth’), which got their ideas across.

4. German
money

The Germans financed the
Bolsheviks because they knew that Lenin wanted to take Russia out of the
war.This gave them the
money to mount their publicity campaigns

A brilliant leader – a
professional revolutionary with an iron will, ruthless, brilliant speaker,
a good planner with ONE aim – to overthrow the government.The Bolsheviks were well-led.

6. Army

A private Bolshevik army (the
Red Guards), dedicated to the revolution, was set up and trained under
Leon Trotsky.It gave
the Bolsheviks the military power to win.

7. Organisation

The Bolsheviks were brilliantly
organised (or
were they?). A central committee (controlled by Lenin and other leading
Bolsheviks) sent orders to the soviets, who gave orders to the factories.Membership grew to 2 million in 3 months.Unlike the Provisional Government, the Bolsheviks demanded total
obedience from their members, so they were well-disciplined (members
did what the leaders wanted).